American arrested for smuggling cocaine

31 May 2004, LIMA - A US tourist about to board a flight to Spain was arrested at the Lima airport when security officials found nine kilogrammes of cocaine in her luggage, police said Monday.

31 May 2004

LIMA - A US tourist about to board a flight to Spain was arrested at the Lima airport when security officials found nine kilogrammes of cocaine in her luggage, police said Monday.

Marilyn Cruz was arrested by anti-drug customs agents after an X-ray check of two of her bags revealed false bottoms, beneath which were hidden a total of 30 packets of the drug, they said.

Cruz said she did not know there was cocaine in the luggage, claiming that they belonged to an unidentified person who said she would be paid EUR 6,666 (USD 8,000) to deliver the bags to contacts in Valencia, north-east Spain.

Last Saturday, a Dutch citizen was arrested at the Lima airport with six kilos of cocaine hidden in boxes of sweets, which he too was preparing to transport to Valencia.